Soramaru Kumo
Soramaru Kumo (曇 空丸, Kumo Soramaru) is one of the main characters of the Donten ni Warau series. He is the second son of the Kumo household,he was revealed to be the real vessel of Orochi. Appearance Soramaru has short, messy black hair with a red tip at one of his bangs. He has black eyes which turn reddish when he gets agitated.Kemuri Karakara's blog (JaCategory:Characterspanese) He is usually seen wearing the traditional Kumo household clothing with a Kumo family symbol at the back. His clothing reflects the one samurais' wear, with the exception of the hoodie he has on his upper attire. Soramaru always carries the Kumo family swords which he was entrusted with by Tenka. Soramaru's colour combination is mainly black and red. Personality Out of the three Kumo siblings, Soramaru is the most serious and responsible. Usually when Tenka would cause trouble, Soramaru would be the one to apologise in his brother's stead. Along with his love for his two brothers, Soramaru has set a personal goal for himself to surpass his older brother, Tenka. He sees himself as always facing his older brother's back and always being the one who is protected. Soramaru's determination to become stronger has led him to suppress his inner emotions, as after Tenka's execution, Soramaru did not shed a single tear in order not to become weaker than he already is.Donten ni Warau chapter 22, page 10 Soramaru sees himself as someone weak compared to Tenka, Shirasu and Sousei. Soramaru also has a strong aversion to his neck being touched, due to a traumatic event he experienced as a child. History Soramaru was born into the Kumo household, as the second son of the family. In his early childhood, Soramaru's mother would always take care of him while his older brother and father would go to Yaminu to train for future combat against the Orochi. When they would return, Soramaru would always spar with his older brother while the rest of the family watched them. One night in winter, the Kumo family was massacred by a mysterious Fuuma ninja who infiltrated the household and killed Soramaru's parents, leaving him and his brothers alive. During the attack, Soramaru was present when his parents were killed and was afterwards choked by the attacker who grabbed him by the neck.Donten ni Warau chapter 10, page 13 Tenka then came to help his younger brother and shielded him from a sword slash, which left a prominent scar on his back.Donten ni Warau chapter 10, page 17 The attacker than left, leaving the three brothers in a room of blood. After the attack, Tenka has decided that since he, as a first born son, has recieved love from his parents, it was now his younger brothers' turn to recieve love. Tenka formed his resolve to love his brothers more than anything and give them love. Sometime after, Tenka found Shirasu and brought him to the Kumo household where Soramaru and Chuutarou met him for the first time. Shirasu was accepted into the family and continued on living with the three Kumo brothers.Donten ni Warau chapter 10, page 29 Story Introduction At the beginning, Soramaru is very focused on proving himself, and he is extremely irked by the fact that Tenka occasionally treats him like a child. In attempts to prove himself, he does a few less than genius things. Against Tenka's orders, Soramaru, joined by Chuutarou, runs off to fight a ronin. The fight appears to be in the Kumo's favor, but the criminal gains the upper hand. This results in Soramaru getting strangled to the point of passing out. While he is unconscious, he has a sudden, fragmented flashback of someone dying, him getting strangled, splattered blood, and a man in a fox mask. He awakes in Tenka's arms, and almost cries. It all ends with Tenka carrying him up the stairs back to the shrine. Condemned Prison Gate Soramaru's determination in surpassing Tenka gets him into a less than ideal situation. In order to receive swordsmanship lessons from Sousei, the commander of the Yamainu, Soramaru agrees to infiltrate Gokumonjo prison to obtain certain information. He disguises himself as a criminal who had been apprehended earlier. His disguise includes a wig, glasses, and a prisoner uniform. After attempting to spy on a conversation between two inmates, he is caught, and locked in an isolation cell with a mysterious, masked man. The encounter triggers a memory, and Soramaru has a full flashback. He remembers that the masked man in the cell killed his parents and strangled him when he was five years old. In his flashback, he reaches for a sword in an effort to assist Tenka, but his brother dives in front of him as the murderer slashes at him. This leaves Tenka with a long scar running down his back. As Soramaru has the flashback, he wildly attacks the man, only to be grabbed the throat and forced into unconsciousness. When he comes to, he is in the prison's infirmary where a guard explains what happened to him. Tenka's Execution Hunt for Orochi's Vessel Relationships Tenka Kumo Soramaru holds admiration, respect and love for his older brother. As the younger sibling, Soramaru sees Tenka as a wall he must overcome. He constantly feels the need to get stronger, as it is always him who is being protected by his brother. Soramaru would often challenge Tenka to duels (which he would always lose) and ask his brother to train him to become stronger. However, while Soramaru strives to become stronger, Tenka on the other hand feels the need to protect his brother from any harm, thus he is hesitant about teaching Soramaru combat skills fully, as to not get himself in danger. The two share mutual bond as brothers and care for each other. When Tenka causes trouble, it is always Soramaru who apologies for his brother's outgoings. When Soramaru was fully possessed by the Orochi, Tenka was shocked upon hearing the news that his brother is the vessel and immediately heads out to rescue him, not caring for his own health. When the Orochi is separated from Soramaru's body and the two reunite, Soramaru scolds Tenka on his actions, usually calling him 'Stupid, Brother". While Soramaru sees Tenka as the stronger one, it is the opposite for Tenka who sees Soramaru as the one who has already surpassed him. Chuutarou Kumo Chuutarou is Soramaru's younger brother, thus Soramaru feels the need to protect his younger brother as the older sibling. When Soramaru would get depressed, Chuutarou would usually try to cheer him up (by chasing him with poop). While Chuutarou may not regard Soramaru as high as Tenka, the two do love and care for each other's wellbeing. When Chuutarou saw the Orochi posessingg Soramaru, Chuutarou fought to free his brother by trying to cut the Orochi with the sacred Kumo sword, said to be able to separate the Orochi from its vessel. Shirasu Kinjou Soramaru calls Shirasu "Shirasu-san," which identifies his respect for the latter. Soramaru sees Shirasu as a second older brother besides Tenka. Shirasu would always care for Soramaru's and the other Kumo brothers' well-being by doing the chores, protecting them from danger, and supporting them in times of need. After Tenka's public execution, Shirasu approached Soramaru to try to cheer him up. However, Shirasu wasn't successful and told himself that he could never replace Tenka. Before the Orochi awakened, Shirasu and his twin brother approached Soramaru to capture him as the vessel. The two revealed their plans to Soramaru and swore their loyalty to the Orochi within his body. Soramaru was shocked to see this side of Shirasu, and to learn that it was Shirasu who had killed his parents. Soramaru tried to run away but was stopped as the Orochi slowly overtook him. Nishiki Soramaru first met Nishiki at Gokumonjou prison where she assumed the guise of a prison guard. Soramaru is often protective and caring towards Nishiki. Likewise, she has a fond attachment to him. As the series progressed, Nishiki developed feelings for him. Quotes To himself: "In my heart is always the image of Aniki’s back… he will never turn around. I have to stop watching his back and be his equal… that’s my goal. I’ll live up to him!" To Kotarou: "Kumo Soramaru, the man who slugged you, and the man whose parents you killed. Remember it for the rest of your life!"Donten ni Warau chapter 11, page 24 To himself: "Siblings are strange..." To Nishiki (referring to Shirasu): “By the time I could understand anything, he had already become family. He is a very reliable older brother.” To himself: "No matter who it is, everybody worries and goes through a lot of suffering. But even so, we live on because we hope for a day when we can smile again. It's still too early to despair." To Nishiki: "I can teach you a lot of things. This way you won’t have any time to be afraid! Have some hope for your life.” To himself: "My memories are lapsing. I'm in places I don't know before I realize it. 'What was I doing in between?!’... Surely, I'm the Orochi." To Sousei (referring to the Orochi): "Master! It's me. Please kill me." To Tenka: "I...don't think I'll ever be able to forgive Shirasu-san. But...I also want to see him again." To Shirasu: "Shirasu-san, you were my other older brother." Trivia *The Sora (空) in Soramaru's name means Sky. References Category:Kumo Family Category:Characters